Mounting Instructions for M & M Performance Go Kart Bodies

Mounting Instructions for M & M Performance Go Kart Bodies

The following pictures will show you one way to mount your M & M Performance Body. We offer some tips and tricks that should help you mount your body faster and better.
The first thing you need to have are the right fasteners. "Conical washer" are available in metal or plastic to match your body work. We like the stainless steel washers shown at the right because they grab the body without over tightening and they don't rust. Bolts that match the washers are essential and can be on here on line. Just add the M & M Bolt Kit to your body order. /
/ You'll also need some inside washers for where the nuts will tighten directly against the body and nylock nuts are always a good idea as well.
Oh, by the way, 1/4 inch bolts are just right and they shouldn't be any longer than 3/4 of an inch unless you are bolting through supports, etc.
The process is the same for both side panels. First clamp the panel to the nose and line up the edges. There should be no need to trim either edge to fit the side panel to the nose.
With a 1/4 inch drill bit, drill your hole about an inch from the side edge and 3 /4 of an inch from the edge of the nose where it meets the side panel.
Put a bolt through a conical washer and insert it into the hole you just drilled. Because the nut will rest against the body, use a flat washer between the nut and the bottom of the side panel.
When you tighten the nut, snug it up to the washer and then give it about another quarter turn to seat the conical washer. Then back the nut off slightly so that the body is not stressed. /
/ When you get done, the top of the bolt and the conical washer should look like the picture on the left. The bolt head should be flush with the top of the conical washer. This is not as important as the side panel bolts but it looks really nice and clean.
You'll find that, when it's time to remove these bolts, the heads will not be all marred up and you will still be able to get your allen wrench into the hole to loosen them. Save yourself some trouble though, never reuse these bolts even if they still look pretty good.
It only takes 2 bolts to hold the left side panel securely and 3 for the right side panel. Drill another hole approximately half way up the nose where it rises vertically and about 3/4 of an inch out from where the nose meets the side panel.
Do the same thing on the other side so that you have 2 bolts in each panel, one at the edge and one at half way up the vertical rise of the nose. Again, tighten them down to seat the conical washer and then back them off to free up the joint. /
/ The M & M Performance Body was designed to get you out of the wind as much as possible yet still be suitable for both junior and senior classes.
If you run the Junior classes that require a maximum body height of 14 inches, clearance over the right side tire can be a bit of a problem.
The bolt on the left is actually an appliance foot that you can purchase at any hardware or fastener store. It will secure the body over the tire without it rubbing.

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You will probably have to shorten it to 3/4 of an inch before you mount it to the body because they only come in lengths of 1 1/2 inches and up.
Another tip to meet the junior body rule is to raise your spindles as far up (lowering the chassis) as you can. With minimal wheel clearance the body should measure exactly 14 inches just above the wheel spindles without any trimming.
There are other variables to consider such as tire circumference and stager but this should get you close. /
Now that you have the body assembled, it's time to line it up on the chassis.
The most critical area is getting the body on square and far enough forward that the tires don't rub the wheel openings or the inside of the nose.
I like to do this on the floor. First I get everything lined up as close as I can eyeball it. Then, I walk around the kart to see that the body is actually aligned properly. This is really the time when you should not be in a hurry. Take your time and mess with it until it looks right to you. /
/ When you think you have it close, place a 1 x 2 or something of similar size underneath the nose at a point just below where you will be drilling the holes through the floor pan.
Next, you'll want to take some measurements to see that everything is lined up as good as it looks. Measure the distance from the tire to the edge of the body at all 4 corners. Of course the tires will not be the same distance from the chassis so these measurements could be different for each wheel.
Then measure at the wheel openings to make sure the wheel is position at or a little bit behind the center.
Another way to line up the body is to square the right side just as you would your right side alignment. Use whatever tools you use for your alignment except measure the side panel instead of the wheel.
Then, offset the body to accommodate your rear wheel width keeping all 4 tires inside the body work.
Don't worry about your nerf bars just yet. In fact, it's a good idea to take out the bolts and let the nerf bars float until you have the body completely mounted all the way around. /
/ Once you are sure that you are sure that you are sure.., go ahead and drill a 1/4 inch hole in the 2 bolt holes towards the back of the nose.
You can re-drill or open up these holes to a 1/2 or 5/8 of an inch so that the body can be adjusted a little once you have the bolts installed. Use large fender washers and 1/4 inch bolts with nylock nuts to secure the nose to the chassis. If you snug these bolts down and then back them off a tick, the body will slide back on impact and will reduce the risk of damaging the floor pan.
Is your back getting a little tired? Me too! Lets put this thing up on the kart buggy and see if we can straighten back up. Ah, that feels better!
Now, slide the body back over the wheels and line up your holes that you drilled. Then, put the big fender washer on a bolt and put it in one of the holes.
About now you may have realized that the nuts and the wrench are still on the top of tool box about 6 feet away from you! Oh well, take out the bolt and put the nuts and the wrench in the floor pan and then put the bolt back in the hole. Now you can reach around with your other hand and start the nut and tighten it down with the wrench. /

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/ A flashlight? I know what you're thinking... This is going to take all night, right?
Actually, I use the flashlight for a nifty little trick I learned. You see, unlike fiberglass, plastic is semi-transparent. So you can shine a light through a hole on the inside and it will shine through to the outside to show you where to put the drill. Pretty cool huh?
Go to the next page to see how we use this to mount the rest of the body bolts.
You can tell a quality company by the way they take care of their customers.
The key word here is care.
We're racers too. We have gone through the same things that you have and we, like you, wished we didn't have to. So, at M & M Performance, we try to save you a little trouble. We make the best products we can, we give the best service we can, and we give you a little more if we can. Like this flashlight idea.
First you need to turn on the flash light. Then, hold the flashlight up against the mounting tab that you want to drill the hole through. /
/ You will see the light shine through the hole in the tab to the outside of the body in the exact spot that you need to drill the hole. Make sure that the body is firmly up against the tab and that the flashlight is not at an angle to the tab because this will make the light shine off center to where the hole needs to be.
Next, place the center of your drill bit in the center of the light. It's probably a good idea to take the flashlight away from the tab now before you start the drill... Hey, it's happened!
Once you have one of the holes drilled in each side panel the rest of them go pretty quickly. The little flashlight trick works for the other bolts in the bottom of the floor pan too.
We didn't show it but we use the same yellow clamp to hold the side panels to the nerf bars until we have at least one bolt secured.
All that's left now is to put the bolts back in the nerf bars.
You can see in the picture at the right that there is about a 1/4 of an inch of material on the nose portion of the wheel opening that hangs down below the side panel. /
/ Most guys are ready for hot laps by now but if you want to clean that up, a belt sander will smooth it out in a jiffy.
Other than that, M & M Performance Bodies require no trimming. They come to you just as you see this one here on this site.
We hope that this little demonstration has given you a few ideas that will help when you mount your next body - and - we sincerely hope that your next body will be one of ours!